Henry V

Playing Henry V

Chicago actor Sam Hubbard just finished playing the title role in the the Michigan Shakespeare Festival production of Henry V, directed by artistic director Janice L. Blixt. Originally scheduled for the summer of 2020, Sam talks about what changed with two additional years to think about his performance; where he got the freedom to let go of the bad ideas; how Henry succeeds (or doesn’t) in rallying his men; the joy of getting to play dream roles; investigating what effective leadership looks like, both centuries ago and now; the richness of adding memorable unspoken moments to Shakespeare; the temerity of imagining a God-appointed king as actually human in 1598; the gratitude of avoiding the “Intern Drop-off;” and finally, the great good fortune of considering doing the Don Knotts version of Henry V – and then rejecting it. (Length 24:25) (PICTURED: Sam Hubbard in the title role of Henry V, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, directed by Janice L. Blixt. Photo by Victor Yang.)

Podcast: Download (28.0MB)

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By austin, ago

King Lear’s Edgar

Daniel José Molina (who’s appeared on the podcast discussing his performances of Hal in both parts of Henry IV and Henry V), discusses playing the even more difficult role of Edgar in the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear starring Andre De Shields. Daniel reveals the challenge of playing a purely reactive character; the value of recognizing that Edgar only realizes when it’s almost too late what play he’s in; the trick of honoring Shakespeare’s intent to make ‘Poor Tom’ a crude performance, not a Daniel Day-Lewis transformation; the tricky irony of when performed mental illness meets genuine decline; gives a shout-out to Leland Fowler, who played one of the best bastards ever; a special appearance from Netta Walker, one of the stars of the upcoming CW series All-American: Homecoming; a preview of Daniel’s next Shakespeare challenge; and, ultimately, how Edgar is actually four or five characters in one. (Length 24:18)

Podcast: Download (27.9MB)

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By austin, ago